Day 27 – Monday, September 1, 2025

As this is a biking blog, I’ll keep it to a short timeline. A bit after 6 am, I went for a swim in the Kalamata waters, thinking this would be the last sea swim of the trip – it was quite pleasant. Then I had a so-so breakfast at the hotel and rushed to the bus station. Luckily, the bus was not full, and I was not the only biker – an Italian couple, Nicky and Tommy, traveling from western Greece to Patras to catch the ferry to Ancona.

The bus arrived in Patras around 12:30 pm, roughly on schedule. I rode around town, greeted my local buddies, so I paid tribute to the staff at bike shop that fixed my bike, and also visited the Hotel Mediterranée to chat with Vasilis, thanking him again for his kindness earlier - also chatting with his other colleagues.

Next, I got a haircut for €10 from a Hell’s Angel motorbike rider covered in tattoos – he was surprisingly nice. After that, I enjoyed a good lunch, especially the salad.

Delicious salad in Patras

He had visited Austria earlier

I then went for a swim near the bridge (close to where I had swum after the crossing a few days back). The sea was exactly how I enjoy it – windy with lots of waves. Practically no one else was swimming. When I wanted it, the lifeguard got into standby position, descending from his lookout post – ths time, I did not give him raison d'être , maybe another time.

A bit rough, but "nothing special" as some would say...

I took a shower, got dressed, and it was time to leave. First, a visit to Lidl – I’ve been on many ferries and know that a glass of water costs €5 minimum, so I stocked up on sandwiches, fruits, and snacks to last the 36-hour journey.

My would-be ferry

Check-in went smoothly, with document control requiring me to be there 2 hours prior to departure. I met Nicky and Tommy, whose ferry had been delayed by a couple of hours. We chatted briefly before boarding.

To my surprise, there was significant security prior to boarding. All five of my bags were scanned, and the officer found two pocket knives, which I had to present – after inspection, she gave her blessing. I was good to go.

I had packed logically, knowing what bags to take on board and what to leave with the bike. As usual, I brought my tent, excited to crash on one of the decks. The crew confirmed it was allowed.

The view from the ferry was spectacular. The setting sun lit the white houses of Patras in a glowing red, while others were already in darkness – a beautiful farewell.

Good-bye, Patras!

Surprisingly, there weren’t many people on the deck – only a group of semi-friendly Austrian voluntary firefighters returning from putting out wildfires near Patras. I mentioned the wildfires I had seen in Podgorica; one friendly firefighter even offered to drive me to Vienna from Venice, but later went back on the offer.

I set up my tent on the otherwise empty deck and was ready for departure a little after 9 pm.

Camping on the deck!

All went well for a while, but once out on the open sea, the wind picked up strongly. I managed to find a more protected spot on the upper deck and slept relatively well.